It just got easier to score a bag of fresh-baked bagels on Cleveland’s east side thanks to Nubeigel (2254 Lee Rd.), which opened last month on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. The bakery/café is owned by Josh Admon, a chef who recently relocated from Jerusalem to University Heights.
The bright, minimal shop keeps things blissfully uncomplicated, offering a streamlined menu of bagels, bagels and schmears, and coffee drinks. Admon’s plain, sesame, poppy, everything and everything spicy bagels are hand-rolled, boiled and baked, giving them that characteristic sheen and chew. But don’t bother making comparisons between Nubeigel’s bagels and those from other shops, either locally or regionally, says the owner.
“Kind of reflective of the name, I’m not going to categorize my product and I’m not down to any sort of rules or regulations of different style bagels,” Admon explains. “I wouldn’t even call them a hybrid. I’m not going to call it anything other than my product.”
Bagels can be purchased individually ($2), by the dozen ($21), or as sandwiches filled with cream cheese schmears of various flavors. In addition to plain cream cheese, Nubeigel sells versions with kalamata olives; capers and red onion; Sriracha; and horseradish dill (all $4). Add-ons like smoked salmon, kimchi, capers, tomato and cucumber can be tacked on for a fee.
The coffee hails from Edda Coffee Roasters, “that Pour guy” Charlie Eisenstat’s new roastery in Ohio City.
Nubeigel is open Monday through Friday.
This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 9, 2022.
